Don’t quit your day job

ONE of the hottest “sleeper” (unexpected) hits on TV these days is “American Idol” Fil-Am finalist, Jessica Sanchez. In the finals’ early rounds, the tilt’s celebrity jurors lavished so much heady praise on her that it looked like they were “semaphoring” their prediction of the competition’s ultimate winner.

Well, we hope that it didn’t go to Jessica’s head, because just a few weeks later, the judges were singing a less adulatory tune. That’s the way it is in talent tilts. As the host on “Project Runway” puts it, “One day you’re up, the next day you’re down!”

Despite the “more realistic” critiques, Jessica was still able to get into “AI’s” Top 10. But, she’ll have to intensify her efforts to keep up with the competition. Yes, she can bank on the strong Fil-Am vote, but one false move and she could be a goner.

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Another case in point: Some weeks ago, the HBO drama series, “Luck,” debuted to great reviews and fanfare, riding high on the stellar portrayal of its iconic star, Dustin Hoffman. Soon after, however, reports leaked out about some horses that figured in the series about the racing and betting world, and how they had to be disposed of due to injuries.

Animal rights activists rued the fact that the steeds had to be “sacrificed” to help assure the success of the TV series. The production countered by pointing out that accidents can’t be avoided—to which the activists’ rebuttal was that, with better supervision and planning, some of them needn’t have happened.

After all the hue and cry, further reports have it that the decision has been made to discontinue telecasting the series—for a number of reasons, not all of them related to production “difficulties.” In other words, “Luck” itself may have run out of that much-prized commodity.

A third illustration of the iffy nature of show business is the erratic progress of some young finds’ careers. For instance, Xian Lim made a good showing on “My Binondo Girl,” but lost points with his less-focused portrayal on his follow-up movie. And, on a recent guest appearance on Sarah Geronimo’s new TV musical-variety show, he fared even worse. So, his career’s upward trajectory has been compromised—temporarily, we trust.

Sadly, the same thing has happened to another talent on the rise, Enrique Gil, because his role in the recently concluded series, “Budoy,” was too unrelievedly sour and peevish to make for continued viewing.

In an industry where the truism, “you’re only as good as your last performance,” holds sway, even exceptionally promising newcomers always have to play their best game.

This is made dodgy by the fact that they don’t control all of the factors involved in producing a show—but, that’s why they need “handlers” and mentors who can keep them out of tight spots, or get them out of them when they do occur.

For these and other comers—and goers—the word’s out: Don’t quit your day job!

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